Heather Watson too hot to handle as she sweeps aside Lucie Safarova to set up Victoria Azarenka clash

What a week this has been for Heather Watson. The Guernsey girl with the
broadest smile in tennis was feeling a little down on her luck coming into
this tournament, but everything has turned around in the space of three days.

All smiles: Heather Watson pumps her fist after seeing off Lucie Safarova in MiamiPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

First Watson produced a remarkable comeback against Sorana Cristea on Tuesday, recovering from 5-0 down in the deciding set to claim the match on a tie-break.

Then she followed up with another famous win on Friday, thrashing world No 25 Lucie Safarova 6-2, 6-1 on a sweltering afternoon in Miami.

A tale of growing confidence? To some extent, but also of physical recuperation. In December, Watson sprained her ankle playing football – a sport she has now forsworn for good – at the Bollettieri Academy in nearby Sarasota.

She forced herself back on to the tour in the second week of January, but the joint was still giving her pain.

“It’s only in the last three weeks I’ve been able to go without strapping,” she said on Friday. “The result was that I was trying to be too aggressive when my game is more about working my opponent, breaking them down.

"Today I saw my opponent struggling a bit with the heat so I tried to keep her out there.”

The tactic worked superbly as Watson outplayed Safarova, the highest-ranked player she has beaten, in just about every aspect of the game. But this was more than just a defensive masterclass. Watson’s service return was magnificent too.

Ranked 129 in the world before this tournament, Watson has only recently slipped back into fourth place among the leading British women.

But this week’s results will send her bouncing back up again, even if her third-round match against world No 1 Victoria Azarenka is likely to be a handful.

The doubles partnership of Ross Hutchins and Colin Fleming also enjoyed success as they beat Mardy Fish and Mark Knowles 6-1, 7-6. Three matches and nary a set dropped. How often can you say that?